


All the little things

by LittleWolf95



Series: To build a family [2]
Category: Six - Marlow/Moss
Genre: Additional Warnings In Author's Note, Attempt at Humor, Beheaded Cousins, Family Bonding, Family Dynamics, Family Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-04
Updated: 2019-10-17
Packaged: 2020-11-23 10:01:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20890268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleWolf95/pseuds/LittleWolf95
Summary: Just a collection of one-shots and outtakes in the same universe as "what is needed and unexpected.Snippets of the day to day lives of the queens, their former ladies in waiting and kids as they try to figure out how to deal with each other, their own traumas and the modern world.





	1. People aren't always what they seem

**Author's Note:**

> Warning: implied eating disorder mentioned in this chapter. It's not graphic but it is there

**Trigger Warning: some discussion of mental health issues and implied eating disorder. It's nothing graphic, just thought I should put a warning. **

Catherine of Aragon wasn't surprised when she felt someone curl up against her, having become accustomed to either Anne or Parr coming to her if their thoughts became too much, however, what did surprise her was when she turned to see that it was the youngest of the six queens. 

"Nightmare?" She questioned, feeling the girl stiffen slightly.

"Uh...Is this okay? I didn't want to annoy anyone else and Cathy is working on her thing, but I can go if..." 

Catherine felt her heart break at the sound of fear in the girl's voice.

Why was Katherine so afraid to approach her? Surely one lecture hadn't scared the girl that much.

"Yes Kat, it's okay." She assured, sitting up and turning on the dim lamp beside her bed before adding "want to talk about it or do you think you'll be okay with just being with someone?"

When Katherine shrugged, Aragon had to suppress a sigh as she put an arm around her, drawing her closer. She could feel how the girl seemed to tremble from either fear or held back emotion and it made her heart break even further at the thought that the teenager was afraid to open up to her.

However, she also didn't know how to be the ice with the girl either. Mary had allowed Aragon to see her more vulnerable side but she also hadn't been as timid as Katherine could be either. So she just held her for several minutes, just offering her comfort until Kat had felt ready to speak.

What is it that the Annes call her? Kitty? Where the hell did that nickname come from anyway? Perhaps I'm too formal? She wondered after a few minutes, although she noticed that the teen had stopped trembling.

"Sometimes it helps to talk about what is bothering you, kit." 

Katherine remained silent for a few minutes before she responded 

"It was just a stupid dream. I know it's actually different this time around." 

She answered although Aragon just sighed and shook her head.

"It doesn't mean the past still doesn't hurt us. Even I still feel the effects sometimes." She confessed, prompting the girl to turn toward her.

"But you're so ...put together!" 

Catherine just chuckled.

"Yeah, well that comes from being queen for so long. You get used to hiding anything that the masses can deem a weakness." 

Katherine sighed and closed her eyes at that.

"Yeah, well everyone else is a hell of a lot braver than I ever was." 

Catherine sighed then and shook her head. 

"Katherine, I am going to tell you something that not many people know. During those seven years when I was waiting for Henry to come of age, I thought I would go crazy. Imagine being in a strange land, being held as a prisoner so you could marry your ex-husband's brother because of some alliance. I honestly was scared, Kitty. I didn't know what was going to happen and I thought I had done something that God was punishing me for." 

Catherine paused before tightening her grip on the girl slightly to ground herself before continuing:

"So I decided to punish myself in the hope that God would finally answer my prayers. It started out innocent enough, just fasting for a few days but then I started avoiding food altogether. Honestly, Anne still has to remind me to eat some times, especially during rehearsal days. So no, having nightmares and triggers doesn't make you weak, as a matter of fact, it just means that you've been strong enough to withstand things that no one should ever go through." 

Katherine glanced down then, closing her eyes.

"It sure doesn't feel like it. I feel like I'm just...a bother. I mean I can't stand the complete dark, I have nightmares almost every night and I can't stand being alone."

Katherine sniffled the held back emotions finally breaking the surface.

"Kitten, you wrote a song about what happened to you. You interact with the men on the production team now that you know they aren't going to hurt you. I think that is strong, don't you? I mean, I don't think I could do it... especially not when I was your age." 

Aragon reminded her gently, reaching over to wipe away a stray tear from the girl's face.

"And as for being a bother, I can assure you that you're no bother and if you ever need anything, no matter what time, you can come to me." 

Aragon wasn't surprised at all when the teen nearly tackled her in a hug.

"Thank you and I'm so sorry I've…"

Aragon just hushed her.

"Sweetheart, stop. There is nothing to thank me for and definitely nothing to apologize for. I'm going to tell you like I did that hard-headed cousin of yours, I may lose my temper, yell, and in her case...threaten to smack her upside the head ...But that doesn't mean I don't care. Hell, I love all of you even if Boleyn makes me want to strangle her sometimes." 

She felt Katherine stiffen at the word love although her arms tightened around her slightly.

"Even me?" 

Catherine of Aragon hated the childish hope that was in the teenager's voice as she asked that. Had she asked someone similar questions in the past and been scolded or told no? Did Howard expect her to say no?

"Of course, silly girl. Why wouldn't I?" 

She retorted, quickly pressing a kiss into the girl's hair.

There was a silence for several minutes before Katherine finally spoke again, her voice still trembling although she had melted into the hug.

"I love you too."


	2. Ma princesse

Mary knew something was wrong when she came home to find Elizabeth sitting in her own room, arms wrapped around a plushie that Anne had gotten her and tear tracks on her face.

"What's wrong shrimp?"

She asked, concerned for her younger half-sister who usually reacted with defense, not tears. There was no answer for some time as the redhead buried her face into the plush, obviously crying a bit harder once again.

_What the world could have hurt her this badly?_

Mary wondered, moving to sit beside the fourteen-year-old on the bed, putting an arm around her.

"You know you can tell me, right? We may fight but you're still my sister." 

Whatever Mary was expecting to come out of Elizabeth's mouth, it wasn't what actually did:

"Mum hates me." 

Mary actually thought she had heard wrong, blinking in surprise before sighing.

"Anne does not hate you. Why on Earth do you think that?"   
  
  


"We had a fight and she...she compared me to father and...." 

Mary sighed before pressing a kiss into her sister's hair, drawing her closer.

"Doesn't mean she hates you, Liz. You both have a temper and Anne has no brain to mouth filter but she doesn't hate you. Hell, my mum compares me to him too when I annoy her, but does that mean she hates me? No."

Mary understood why Elizabeth worried about this, having been merely a baby when she had lost her mother so she didn't know all of Anne's quirks or flaws and her adoration for her mother made any negative interactions feel almost like a blow.

"She just seemed so angry and she....she has never shouted at me like that before." 

Mary fought a sympathetic smile. She remembered the first time she made her own mother that mad, but it had been a long time ago and she had been a child, not a teenager.

"Anne's default is loud, sarcastic and sometimes angry...Kinda like a raccoon, but she's mostly all bark and no bite." Mary commented, earning a bit of a laugh from Elizabeth. "But I know for a fact she loves you, even if she does yell sometimes. Now come on, I think it would help if you talked to your mum about this yourself and don't worry... I'll stick around within earshot so if she's still mad, I'll protect you." 

_______★_______

Anne had busied herself with tidying the kitchen, trying to push the guilt she had at losing her cool at Elizabeth—of all people—out of her head. Aragon never lost her temper with Mary, not even when the girl acted all of a modern sixteen-year-old. Why couldn't she be more like that? She had watched Elizabeth actually flinch back before rushing out of the room.

Sure, the girl had refused to see reason and had very much started the argument but that wasn't cause for Anne to explode and she knew that.

__"___Ugh....you are exactly like _yo_ur father, I can't de_al with you right now."

Her words repeated back in her mind, knowing from her experience with Katherine that sometimes frustrated, general statements could be taken the wrong way.

Groaning aloud, she cursed herself for what seemed to be the millionth time in the last thirty minutes.

I need to try to talk to her...to try to apologize.

Anne was so lost in thought that she didn't even notice someone walk in until she heard a quiet, dejected voice behind her.

"Mum?" 

Anne's heart broke when she saw Elizabeth standing there, not looking at all like her usual confident self, tears still silently slipping down her face.

"Ma princesse? What's wrong?"

She asked, closing the distance between them quickly and kneeling in front of the trembling fourteen-year-old who nearly collapsed into her arms at the sound of the French pet name.

"I'm sorry."

Anne wrapped her arms tightly around Elizabeth, hushing her softly as she felt her daughter begin to sob anew.

"I think I am the one who needs to apologize, love. I lost my temper and I am sorry. Do you think you can forgive me?" 

Anne couldn't make out the muffled response as the girl hid her face against the crook of her neck, but the way that Elizabeth's arms tightened around her gave her an answer.

Anne slowly became aware that someone was watching her from the doorway, only to see Mary standing there, smiling slightly.

"She thought you hated her because you got mad at her," Mary said, earning a sigh from Anne.

"Elizabeth, look at me."

Anne ordered in a Stern, yet somehow still loving tone although when her daughter looked up, her voice softened even farther.

"Elizabeth, you are my heart. On days that I have a lot on my mind, I remember how you survived so much and are still so cheerful, so bold and it motivates me to be better, to be the mother that you deserved the first time around. I know I mess up sometimes and I still can't cook all that well but I love you and there is nothing that could ever change that." 

Anne was nearly in tears after saying this and Elizabeth had reburied her face.

"I love you too Mum. So much and I'm so sorry about what I said."

Anne just chuckled, giving her a light squeeze.

"You're fourteen and I'm your mother, we're not always going to get along and sometimes you'll get mad at me because I'll have to be more of a mom than a friend, but I'll always forgive you, my princess."  
  
  



	3. A mother's love

"Come on Mary! Please? It's cold as hell out there!" 

Mary just glared over at her half-sister before curling up further under the blankets. "Liz, you have a coat...actually you have  _ three.  _ Wear one of yours!" 

"But none of them are as fluffy as yours!" 

"That's your fault! You picked out what you wanted! Now get out of my room, I'm probably contagious and I don't want you getting whatever the hell this is." Mary grumbled, tossing an empty tissue box at her younger sister 

"Ugh, you're an asshole!" Elizabeth grumbled before leaving the room.

  
  
  


Mary just tried to make herself comfortable under the layers of blankets and closed her eyes once again, a familiar fear settling into the pit of her stomach. Was she going to die? Would she die alone? Is that why she had been sent straight to bed after her mum had brought her home from her doctor's appointment? 

Her mind raced and she had to bite back a whimper at the thought. She was a former queen and nearly an adult, she didn't have time to entertain such thoughts. However, it was true that she and her mother hadn't been quite as close as they had been in the past with Catherine always seeming to keep her at arm's length.

Did her mum hate her for what she had done? 

Mary couldn't say she actually would blame her. After all, who would want to love a monster? 

Closing her eyes Mary tried to block the thoughts from her mind, after all, her mum had seemed to have missed her and hadn't been disgusted by the idea of hugging her. Surely, that meant something.

Right?

  
  
  


______★______

"Catherine, come on. Stop worrying, the medicine here is a lot better than what we called medicine back then. Besides, Mary's your daughter...pretty sure a simple bug isn't going to get her down." Anne said as she attempted to help Catherine of Aragon in the kitchen—at least the best she could with the older woman basically herding her to the side at every opportunity.

Anne knew what it was like to worry about your child's health even if they were technically teenagers now, after all, she had spent all night at Elizabeth's bedside when she had come down with a stomach virus just a few months after being reincarnated.

"I can't help but worry, Anne. What if the doctors are wrong? What if..." 

Aragon trailed off as she tried to shake that particular thought from her mind.

"Cath, come on. Stop worrying okay, Mary will be fine. She's stubborn, just like you are." Anne retorted before adding "how about you stop boiling that soup past point of being nutritious and go check on your kid before you go crazy? I'll bring the food up...and make sure she knows  ** _you_ ** made it." 

______★______

  
  


Mary wasn't expecting anyone to come into her room, especially not her mother so when the door opened, she expected it to be either Jane or Elizabeth coming back to either pester or check on her. Her heart jumped into her throat when she saw her mother standing in the doorway.

"Mum?" 

She hated how pathetic her voice sounded, strained from both the congestion and the emotion that had been building in her chest.

"Hey baby, feeling any better?" 

Catherine asked, taking no time to close the distance between them and take a seat on the bed.

"Barely. I swear I have hacked up a lung." 

Mary retorted, trying to mask her thoughts with humor, although when she felt her mother's hand run through her hair she couldn't keep from leaning into the touch, prompting Catherine to pull her closer. 

"My poor girl. Hopefully what made you for lunch will help a bit...If Anne manages to get upstairs without burning herself." 

Mary couldn't help but laugh at that only to start coughing again.

"You let the clown in the kitchen? If she accidentally puts pepper flakes in my food….again ...I will personally strangle both of you." she said, curling up against Aragon with a small smile as she made herself comfortable against her mother.

"Well, Anne promised not to do something dumb." 

Catherine stated with a small smile as she leaned down to press a kiss against the sixteen-year-old's forehead.

"This is Boleyn we're talking about. She's smart but definitely not when it comes to the culinary arts! She practically melted pasta by overcooking it." 

Catherine could only chuckle at that, just as the door creaked open, revealing the woman in question.

"You two really wouldn't talk behind someone's back, would you?" Anne questioned, although there was no irritation in her voice, especially as she added "don't worry, Aragon was the one who actually cooked it. I'm only the delivery girl. I did make the tea though because I heard lemon helps with a scratchy throat and I heard you coughing last night so I figured you could use it." 

Mary smiled and managed to mumble her thanks before Anne left the room, leaving her once again alone with her mother.

  
  


Several minutes of silence passed as she tried to force herself to eat something, however, she could shake the thoughts from easily from her mind.

"Mum? Can I ask a question without you getting angry or something?" 

"Of course, love. You should know that."

  
  


Mary bit her lip, trying to keep her nerve as she moved to sit the soup back on the bedside table. 

"Do you hate me?" 

Her voice was barely a whisper and if she was completely honest with herself she was apprehensive to know the answer.

She expected a lot of different reactions to this, especially since it must have disgusted her mother because she had done so much evil in the name of religion—in the name of Catholicism

However, she found herself being forced to look at her mother who had a rather shocked look on her face.

"Mary, is that what you think? Do you think I hate you?" 

Mary half-expected Catherine to melt at that, especially when she forced herself to answer.

"How could you not? I'm a monster." 

  
  


She wasn't expecting to be pulled into a strong embrace at that.

"We all made mistakes back then Mary. I blamed Bessie for what _your_ _father_ had done. Jane, Anne, even Elizabeth have done things they regret. The main question is: do you feel sorry for what you did? Because monsters don't feel remorse, sweetheart. Monsters don't have nightmares about their past actions. Both of which I know you do, even if you try to hide it."

Aragon responded and Mary couldn't help but finally let the tears fall, especially when her mother continued:

"Te quiero mi princesa, no te olivdes."

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "Te quiero mi princesa, no te olivdes." roughly translates to "I love you, my princess. Don't forget that."
> 
> I am really rusty with Spanish


	4. What the Hell are we supposed to do? (Part 1)

Aragon sighed as she tried to drown out the shouting coming from the direction of her daughter's bedroom. 

"Oi! Knock it off two! You're going to be late if you don't hurry your asses up and eat breakfast!" Anne shouted, obviously having less patience that morning than the first queen. 

"They have been at each other's throats all weekend," Anne grumbled as she sank into a chair beside the dark-skinned woman, who just chuckled.

"Is that why Mary texted me and said you were being a bitch and ordering her around?" Catherine retorted, earning a groan.

"Why are teenagers so damn difficult? I literally sent both of them to their rooms just to get some fucking quiet." Anne grumbled, only to earn a chuckle from the other woman.

"One is sixteen, one is fourteen. I think it's normal. What have they been fighting about anyway?" Catherine said, earning a look

"Hell if I know. This morning it's about Lizzie wanting to borrow a jacket." 

  
  


Catherine just laughed aloud at that and shook her head.

"How is it that Jane's kid is the best behaved out of all of the kids in this house?" 

"Because he inherited none of his father's malice or his mother's deviousness?"

  
  


Neither of them had seen Jane walk in until the blonde chuckled

"Well, given the fact that he and Kat decided to sneak a cat into the house last week...I wouldn't say  _ that  _ exactly."

  
  


"Oh is that the walking patchwork quilt that I found sitting in my car this morning?" Catherine questioned, earning a sigh from Jane who nodded.

"That would be Jigsaw. I thought Katherine was finding it a new home." 

  
  


"Well, the cat is less troublesome than two bickering girls who I better go make sure haven't murdered each other. So I wouldn't worry about the cat." Catherine retorted before heading out of the room.

  
  
  


"Elizabeth and Mary still at war?" Jane asked once Catherine was out of the room, earning a sigh from Anne.

"Yes. I mean it's over inconsequential little things but they are driving me mad!" 

Anne retorted, earning a laugh.

"They'll sort it out soon enough. Just ask Aragon to take Mary with her for the next bit until those two get it sorted." 

  
  
  


________★_______

"Okay, remind me again why we got stuck with a literal toddler?" Bessie groaned as she picked up at least the third cup that had been spilled over the floor that day.

"Because of Mary...Who evidently has some amount of conscience after all." Joan retorted, earning a look from Maria.

"I know she's done terrible things in the past but seriously, the poor girl is trying. She is trying to start over and it can't be easy." the drummer retorted as she helped the little girl down from the chair.

"Yeah well...Looks like we could drop the kid off on Seymour or something. Weren't they related? besides, she worked for Parr as a kid the first time around!" Bessie retorted

"Oh sure, what are we supposed to do? Say, 'hey, Mary tried to undo a ton of shit and only managed to bring back Lady Grey so here's a baby, bye?" Maggie retorted with a roll of her eyes 

Bessie just sighed and glanced into the other room where the toddler in question was currently playing with some kind of odd-colored toy that Joan had won out won a claw machine. 

"How about this, Call Cathy and have her come here. She's much more level headed than the others...she'll know what to do."


End file.
